


Le Hasard Fait Bien Les Choses

by The_Rose



Series: Hasard (Urban Fantasy/Modern AU) [1]
Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Demons hunting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Humans vs Demons, Illidan is a demon, It'll be a long fic, Maiev is a human, Modern AU, Or Just Enemies To Lovers, Secret Identities, Slow Burn, Some are both, The Stormrage are real siblings for once, You can imagine the WoW appearance when a character is mentioned to be a demon, more tags to be added as chapters go on, urban fantasy au, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2020-06-27 19:07:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19797154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Rose/pseuds/The_Rose
Summary: Milennia ago, demons roamed the planet and made the humans live in fear. After a faithful night, the natural order got inversed and the humans took over as the demons cowered in the shadows. Now, they live either hidden from the humans' sight or with them, hiding their true appearance and nature, being just some urban legends. Even if some of them cannot agree on the status quo and becomes a threat to humans.Maiev Shadowsong, a human, only know the hunt and she'll do anything to protect her kind, even putting her life on the line.Illidan Stormrage is a demon with a complicated past who only want the best for his own kind.They promised to kill each other but one day, their world gets turn upside down.





	1. A Muffled Shout In The Night

**Author's Note:**

> And here's an AU I've been roughly working on for more than a years and I hope you'll like it.  
> I can already tell it should be a long fic and I will probably take five years to finish it ^^'  
> So buckle up your seatlbelt, it's going to be quite a ride !

The sun was slowly going down behind the city skyline, coloring the place in orange and pinkish tone. From there, it wouldn't take long before everything became silent. All doors and windows would be closed.  
  
An unsaid rule.  
  
Past midnight wasn't a time for humans if they wanted to be safe. Only the fools would dare to step outside in the unknown. But sometimes, the fools are those who are the most prepared for this unknown. And prepared she was. More than ever.  
  
Pacing like a lion in a cage, Maiev waited. She had all the cards in her hands to finally finish her job. In all those years she had been hunting and fighting, she was going to put an end to it. At the other side of the room, the other Hunters were watching her.  
  
“Maiev, stop! You're stressing me out,” yelled Sira, who watched her friend playing with the knife in her hand.  
  
“I'm so close…” only muttered the woman. “I know I am.”  
  
Already forgetting about her friends, she kept walking around the room, wishing that the time would go faster. She had enough of waiting for the opportunity.  
  
“For days he has been seen at the same place around the same time. For days I watched him, taking notes of his every move.”  
  
Maiev made a break in both her monologue and pacing, but her hands kept unsheathing and sheathing the knives around her belt. She had been in her combat gear since the morning. Combat boots, comfortable enough to wear them for hours, but hard enough to hurt anyone hit by them. Padded pants allowed her to protect her skin. Her bust protected by a Kevlar jacket, and another padded shirt over it, plus a simple jacket full of knives of different sizes for every occasion. Gloves and bandages on her hands.  
  
Her mouth was covered with a mask and she wore special makeup to hide her identity, both her voice and her facial structure. Two lines crossed her face vertically, each passing an eye. Along with her knives-jacket, she also wore a belt with more knives. These were her favorite weapons, and the most effective. Guns were useless against Demons, and especially her prey.  
  
“Years ago I swore to kill him,” she resumed, pacing once again. “To make him pay for those he murdered. He'll never be a threat again. Not in my city!”  
  
Drelanim opened her mouth to remind her that they all knew that, but Marin moved her head to tell her it was useless. Maiev was so deep in her mind that she was mostly speaking nonsense.  
  
The other Huntress began to stop caring about Maiev and talked between them, about their own prey or objectives for the month to come. They were interrupted when the door opened to let Khadgar in.  
  
"First, Velen asked me to tell you dinner's ready." He said. "Second… Maiev, can you stop walking like that? I can hear you from the other room and it's distracting."  
  
The woman only glared at him but said nothing. Sira grabbed Maiev by the shoulders as she passed her and pushed her out of the room.  
  
"Let's eat something," she muttered. "You'll need it."  
  
  
  
The clock reached the first half after midnight, and everyone turned their head to Maiev. The time had finally come for her to put her plan into motion and even if they knew how strong she was, they held a twinge at their heart. Her opponent was as strong as she, and the possibility that she was the one dying tonight was on everyone mind. But no one said a word.  
  
"I'm going." Only said Maiev, and got up.  
  
They answered silently with a nod.  
  
Before leaving the house, Maiev stopped by Velen's office. She held her fist in front of the door and breathed deeply, but didn't get the time to knock.  
  
"Come in, Maiev." She heard Velen say.  
  
She entered and once again her fingers began to play with one of her knives. Sitting at his desk, Velen was reading. Inside his own house, he had no need to hide his true identity and once again Maiev wondered how a Demon could look so wise and respected. His skin was almost scaly and pinkish and he had a head plate on the forehead. His hands were clawed and his feet were hooves. He never really told anyone his age but it was carved on his face that he had lived for way longer than anyone could think of but for his eyes. They were always of a bright light blue, almost white. He raised his head and locked them on Maiev, a comforting smile on his face.  
  
"Be careful," he told her. "And I want to see you here tomorrow."  
  
"I will!" She smiled proudly.  
  
Nothing else needed to be said. With those simple words, he gave her his blessing and Maiev was only hoping that he did foresee her coming back alive the next day. After all, Velen was a powerful magic user and his strongest was to see the future. No matter how much she was stressing about the incoming fight, hearing those words and what they were implying helped her relax and strengthen her determination. Tonight, the Betrayer was going down.  
  
She bowed her head and left the room. She couldn't miss her chance and time began to run out.  
  
  
Maiev stood still in the dark alley, her breathing blocked by her mask, making her completely silent. Almost an hour had passed since she got to her observation point, and studied the few people crazy enough to walk at night from in the dark. Most of them were probably Demons in disguise but she didn't care. No one noticed her, and she knew that her prey wouldn't waste his time disguising himself as a human. This wasn't him. No, that bastard believed to be the king of the city.  
  
She breathed deeply. She needed to calm down before it was too late, but thinking about him was always making her angry.  
  
The Betrayer.  
  
Her prey. Her target. Her nemesis.  
  
So many words to qualify him. He wasn't like every other demon. He was different, more powerful than most of the demons she fought. He was also at the head of a clan, each members being a formidable opponent. But the Betrayer wasn't friendly.  
  
He would kill anyone, humans, and demons who got in his way and she had seen it more than once. He was the first demon she met when she became a Huntress and ever since, she wouldn't stop trying to kill him. To avenge everyone he had killed. It was her duty.  
  
The sound of footsteps filled her ears. Or most likely the sound of hooves on the pavement, and she couldn't refrain herself to smile. For two weeks now, the Betrayer passed in front of this alley around 2am, and today was no exception. Finally, his silhouette entered her sight. He was tall, about 10 feet, with horns, wings, and hooves and a purplish skin with bright green eyes. Tattoos as bright as his eyes covered his chest. His clawed hands were clenching a sheet of paper and he was clearly not paying attention to his surroundings. A surprise attack could only result in success.  
  
She waited for him to leave her sight and slowly, she made the first steps. She knew how to walk silently and was trusting her mask to hide her breathing. Even two of her knives had been unsheathed so they wouldn't make any sound. As her breathing stopped, Maiev got out of the alley and was now facing the Betrayer's back.  
  
It was finally time.  
  
One steps after the other, careful to not give away her presence. Her target was a point on his back, right between the wings. Not only would it make them useless but if she was fast enough, she could probably dig the blade deep enough to reach his heart or any important organs. She was now so close to him. One more step and she would be at the perfect place to strike.  
  
Just one more…  
  
The blade was only three inches from the skin when the Betrayer turned around.  
  
Time stopped while they locked eyes, the surprise in his eyes switching to hate and a growl escaped his throat. Meanwhile, as Maiev wasn’t expecting him to notice her, she lost the possibility to sink the blade into her skin. Instead, in a desperate attempt, she barely cut his arm. With a groan, the Betrayer kicked her in the stomach, sending her a few feet away, sliding on the pavement. Dazed by the impact and the following pain, she didn’t notice her wallet escaping her pocket.  
  
“Warden, Warden,” He said, grinning while his hand was covering the cut. “I almost believed you were dead after all this time.”  
  
“As if I could be killed,” she said, standing up and unsheathing another knife. “I was only getting stronger.”  
  
He laughed out loud, his head sent backward. His demonic voice echoed through the empty street, sending shivers down her spine. But it was only to throw her off, a tactic he had used for years.  
  
“Show me!” He roared.  
  
He stood proud on his hooves, bending over while opening his arms, ready to welcome her in a deadly embrace. His wings spread behind his back to make him appear even larger than he already was. But he wasn’t the only one able to intimidate his opponent. Without a sound, Maiev threw a knife towards the sky and began to run. She caught the falling knife again and threw it to the demon this time. Stepping back, the Betrayer summoned a small shield to dodge the weapon. Taking advantage of the diversion, Maiev sped forwards to join the demon and targeted the uncut arm.  
  
The burning feeling of when the blade met the skin made Illidan groan in pain, and forced him in a defensive position, shielding himself with his arms. Even when the Warden would always fight the same way, he was unable to avoid the damage. She was fast and swift. She might have been a fighter mainly relying on knives, but she would always find a way to touch him.  
  
He hated it from the deepest part of his heart.  
  
He let her play with her toys, cutting into his skin until he got an opening. He grabbed an arm and threw her away, only for her to land on her feet and glaring deadly at him. She ran back but this time, instead of using her knives, she jumped and grabbed his horns. Suspended over the ground, she quickly kicked him in the face. Refraining the scream, Illidan stepped back while trying to put his hands on the despicable human, still holding on his horns. She released one to grab a new knife and put it to his throat.  
  
“I won,” she whispered to him.  
  
But Illidan wasn’t going to die like that. Spinning quickly, he destabilized her and she had no other choice but to let go and fall back on the street, a victim of physics. Illidan made another batch of steps backward and almost slipped while stepping on something. But he shrugged it off as he couldn’t care about the black object on the street. No. What really mattered was that the Warden had been way too close to end his life. He laughed once more, mostly laughing at himself.  
  
“You’re such a pain in the ass, Warden.” He muttered, trying to decide if running away wouldn’t be the best option.  
  
Despite all of her body screaming at her, Maiev also laughed. The fall had been more painful than expected and she knew she would regret it in the morning. But the worst was that the Betrayer was still alive. Hurt but alive. She stood up and faced him, doing her best to not shake in front of her enemy. She wasn’t sure she could land another hit. But she had to try.  
  
Maiev was ready to give it all, in one last hope to kill the Betrayer when he suddenly looked up and let out one deep groan. Before she could do anything, he spread his wings and took off. Looking where he went, she only had the time to see another demonic silhouette running away and she cursed under her breath. When would this city be free of its Demons?  
  
“I’m sorry, Warden, but as much as I would have loved to kill you tonight, I have something more urgent to attend to,” he told her, already flying toward the place the silhouette disappeared.  
  
She hadn’t gotten the time to comprehend that he was already out of her sight, and she could only groan. The groan rapidly became a whimper as she felt her bones on the edge of shattering. The fall really had been more painful. Waiting for the pain to either fade or become more bearable, she stood still, replaying the fight in her mind, wondering if she would have killed him if she had pushed the knife into his throat instead of talking.  
  
She probably would never know.  
  
Finally, her eyes locked on her wallet still laying on the ground. She cursed again as she realized that it was indeed her wallet and by rapidly looking at it, that it had been damaged by the fight. Having no strength to deal with it now, she put it back in her pocket and began to walk back to her place. Staying here would only make her easy prey for any demon passing by.  
  
Tomorrow would be another day.  
  
Another day, and another chance to kill the Betrayer.


	2. Two Black Coffees And A Meeting, Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy \o/

The sound of her alarms made her groan. She thought she had deactivated them, why were they still ringing then? She didn't want to wake up now. All of her body was hurting from the fight but she also had to face the fact that the Betrayer was still alive. Staying in bed was the best option for Maiev that morning.

But it wasn't her morning alarm, it was a phone call. Probably the sixth in a quarter. Realizing it, Maiev grabbed her phone, didn't look at who it was and answered.

"What?!" She barked at the phone.

Her interlocutor shut up for a few seconds but Maiev heard the sigh of relief.

"Thank God, you're alive." Finally said Drelanim.

Then, Maiev heard a distant: "She's alive," coming from the other side of the phone.

"We were really worried," the huntress explained. "Usually at this hour, you're already here, bragging about your fight or something. We thought you died for good."

Almost as if her body decided to react at those words, she felt her bones breaking at the memories. Thankfully it wasn't real but it was hurting the same way. And she did her best to not think about her stomach, probably the more hurt from the fight. Getting a hoof right in it wasn't the best way to take care of it.

"I'm alive," she said, more to convince her body than her friend.

Silence answered her, even when she could hear the others talking between them.

"Do you need us to get you to the hospital?" Finally asked Drelanim after a good minute of silence. "Or get you a doctor?"

Maiev groaned loudly over the phone so they would hear her.

"I'll be good…Wait, which hour is it?"

She quickly glanced at her phone to see it was already noon.

"I'm getting lunch and I'm there."

Before Drelanim could add anything, Maiev hanged off and looked at her ceiling, letting her phone drop on the mattress. She knew pain worse than what she was experiencing currently but she was always needing a little time to adjust herself to it. Every wound that the Betrayer was inflicting to her would only add up to her will to kill him. But despite that she had been trying for about thirteen years now, he was still alive and that feeling was the worst. Could she only do it? She was doubting herself. Groaning a little more, Maiev crawled out of her bed and made her way to her bathroom.

On her way to the headquarter, Velen's house, she stopped to her favorite bakery "Deliciously Sweet" and like always, she had a chuckle at how cheesy it was sounding. But she couldn't care less about the name with how good the food was. She went in the waiting line and already decided for her lunch.

"Hello, can I help you?" The only waitress asked.

"Hello, yes. I'll take two of this with a coffee," Maiev answered, showing the food on the counter. "I'll eat here."

"Preparing it."

While the waitress did it, Maiev took her wallet out of her jacket but couldn't stop herself to wince. Maybe she should have taken a better look last night when she found it on the street. Just by holding it, she felt a hoof print, a good inches deep. But with some luck, nothing was damaged.

"It'll be 7.5$," Said the waitress.

Maiev only nodded as she opened her wallet and had to face the truth, every card had been crushed into pieces. She cursed the Betrayer in her mind and hoped that she had some cash on her but it was in vain. She began to explain to the waitress that there was a problem when she heard the person behind her groaning at it.

Illidan looked at his watch and groaned. For once that he had the time to get food at a calm hour, obviously the customer right before him would have a problem. And obviously, it would take a while to get the problem resolved. Like always. "Anyway, how do you get your cards to be crushed like that?" He could only think. But then, he realized he already saw that wallet. Not too long ago, on this very night. He just hadn't realized it was a wallet. But was it the same? And how could it be there if it had been laying in the street? Unless…

Holding his breath, Illidan took a better look at the woman in front of him. He imagined her in those clothes he hated the sight and frowned. Now that he was thinking about it, she was awfully fitting the role and a shiver rolled down his spine. Was it really the Warden? Out there? Unprotected and at his mercy? It was too good to be true. He refrained a smile. Maybe she was indeed the Warden but the possibility that she was just a random woman was also on his mind. The only way to know was to not let her go. Even when he recognized his hoofprint on the wallet.

In front of her, the woman was desperately telling stupid reasons to explain why she couldn't pay right now and Illidan decided it was time to intervene.

"Excuse me," he told the waitress. "Could you add this and a coffee to her order? I'll pay for everything."

The woman became red and panicked even more than before.

"No, I can't accept." She muttered.

"Don't worry, it's nothing for me." He laughed a little.

"But I have to repay you!"

"You don't need to…"

Illidan made a break, paying for the food while she kept trying to convince him to not do it.

"At worst," he began. "You're alone. I'm alone. Let's eat together, it'll be your way to repay me."

She kept muttering on how she couldn't accept it but still followed him to an empty table. "It was way too easy," thought Illidan. They sat, facing each other even if she kept a hand on her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. It was incredible how much she was reminding him of the Warden and not at all actually.

"Illidan, by the way." He added while eating.

"Maiev." She kept muttering.

The silence settled between them and it quickly became heavy. But instead of eating really fast and leaving, like he had expected her to do, she was taking her time. She was still really embarrassed and probably thinking of a way to repay him. If it was the case, it would become too easy for Illidan.

"Well, this is a little awkward," chuckled Illidan while Maiev discreetly nodded to agree with him. "Anyway, what do you do for a living?"

"Working for a cleaning agency." She simply told him.

He refrained his smile. He had met way too many so-called Hunters of demons pretending to be cleaner that it was way, way too easy. Nothing was proving him that the woman wasn't the Warden.

"I'm the CEO of a little business, specialized in security." He explained. "So you really don't need to repay me."

He was throwing the bait. By insisting that she hadn't to do that, he was sure she would do it. And if he could force her to spend time with him, he would not only get the confirmation whether or not Maiev was the Warden but also get her weaknesses. He was going to end that human and nothing would stop him.

"I insist," she told him, slowly getting more confidence. "I don't like having debt. Please, let me repay you."

Bait took.

"Well," he began, taking a little piece of paper from his wallet and a pen. "Take care of your problem of card and when you can, text me and we'll see to see each other."

He then gave her the paper with his number and gently smiled at her, even if he was internally gloating. Once she'll contact him, he'll get not only her number but a way in her life. He was completely manipulating her while making her believes she would be the one to initiate everything. Finally, when he'll get the confirmation she is the Warden and know everything about her, he'll strike. His plan was perfect. And if she wasn't the Warden? Well, it was a possibility but Maiev would certainly know her and she would end up guiding him to her.

Maiev took the paper and slid it into a pocket before continuing to eat. Innocently, Illidan kept asking little questions, nothing too personal or a dead giveaway to his true identity. Just to know her and see how he would manipulate her. And the more he was talking to her, the easier it became to get more than a few words as an answer.

Their lunch had been over for a while that they were still talking, only to get interrupted by Maiev's phone. She quickly looked at it and sighed before getting up.

"Thank you for the lunch," she told him. "But I'm expected and I better leave now. I'll contact you once my little problem is resolved."

"No problems," he chuckled. "But remember, you don't have to."

"I'll do it."

He smiled and waved at her as she left the bakery. Once she wasn't in his sight anymore, he took his phone and made a call.

"Kor'vas? Yeah, it's me. Just to say, I will need to let you in charge of our current problem." He said to the phone, playing with the spoon. "No, no, it's just that I will have to concentrate on a personal hunt and it's going to take me some times. Of course, if you need help, I'll be there."

On the other side of the phone, he could hear multiple people talking at the same time, probably not understanding why the sudden change in his plan. Decided to make it clear who was the boss, he raised his voice and let his demonic side take control of his voice.

"I'm trusting you to take them down." He said, a silent command. "But I have to do it. This is something I put on standby for too long. Any objection?"

A small "no" answered him and he smiled. They had learned to trust him a long time ago but sometimes they failed to see the reasoning behind his acts. But if he succeeded to take down the Warden, they would all feel better and then they'll thank him for his decision.

"Good, see you later."

And he hanged up.

The afternoon was calm and Illidan was bored. The paperwork in front of him was almost mocking him and he almost regretted the time when hiding their true nature was easier for the demons. But that time was over and no way would he wish to get it back. Maybe it wasn't easier to be a demon but it felt better. After all, he did everything he could for it to be the case.

He put down the pen and threw himself backward, his face into his hands. Looking through the windows, he lost himself in his thoughts. He promised to his clan a better life and he would do anything to keep his promise, even if it was meaning killing to protect it. Especially if someone as dangerous as the Warden was trying to slay them all.

Almost as if the Universe was waiting for him to have this thought, his phone began to vibrate on the table. With a quick look, he saw that it was a text from an unknown number.

"Hi, it's Maiev from the bakery. Sorry, I didn't think it would take a week but I finally have access to my money again. Where can we meet?"

Illidan smiled. It was way too easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I would publish it in two weeks but I had to delay the next chapter of "Betrayer And Her Warden" so I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^
> 
> See you next week !


	3. Memories Of A Rainy Day That Will Never Be Forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy !

The blade pierced through the neck and the demon fell on the ground. Maiev wasn't even panting and just looked at it with disdain. The young demon, probably coming from a human family, had been the first to attack and she only retaliated, killing him instantly. She sighed and crouched next to her, examining the victim. She was looking really young, barely a late teenager and she was mostly looking human. What was giving away her demonic belonging were two big clawed hands and little horns. Probably a fourth generation hybrid. On her wrist, hidden by a wristband, Maiev found a little tattoo of what seemed to be a minimalistic butterfly but she shrugged it off. She finally found a wallet with an identity card and she put it in a secret pocket inside her jacket. Now, she only had to get rid of the body.

Without breaking a sweat, she grabbed it and sent it flying over her shoulder. Thankfully, the demon was light-weighted enough for her to transport it like that without having to drag the body on the street. She quickly threw a handful of sand on the blood puddle to absorb and hide it and she finally began to walk to the nearest dumpster. Placed everywhere in the city, those dumpsters only had one purpose: getting rid of the proofs of the demons and keeping the secret safe. Every time someone was killed, their bodies had to be put in it and early in the morning, when it's too early for the humans to be up, the real cleaner would go all around the city and empty the dumpster, take back the body and destroy it respectfully. They would also clean the streets of the signs of a body battle. Like that, the secret was kept and they were avoiding mass hysteria from the humans who had no idea that the demons were real. When Maiev reached the dumpster, she opened it and threw the demon. After closing it, she kept her hand on it and breathed deeply. She couldn't wait for the day it'll be the Betrayer's body she would throw in a dumpster.

While she lost herself in her thoughts, her phone didn't ring despite getting a text and it was normal. In her hunt, she would always put her phone on silent but for Velen or the other Hunters, in case of emergency. And on a few roofs away, Illidan kept tapping with a finger on his phone, keeping an eye on her.

"Look at your phone," he was muttering. "Look at your phone."

Illidan still wasn't sure that the woman he met two weeks ago was the Warden and he was trying to get his answer. When he noticed the Warden was out, patrolling, he decided to not get into a fight and instead, kept an eye on her. Now that she wasn't really busy, he threw a bait my sending a random message and if the Warden was looking at her phone and texting, and that he would obviously receive the text, It'll be enough to prove him her identity. But instead, she didn't even take her phone. As he watched her leaving the area, he groaned and left.

Maiev knocked on the door and quickly, Velen invited her inside. She took the wallet of the demon from her jacket and put it on the desk in front of Velen.

"I got a kill this night. Here's the identity."

"Alright, I will take care of it." He said, already taking the phone in his hand while he took the ID card out of the wallet.

Maiev stayed silent as she watched him dialed the number. She never knew whether she had to stay in the room or not. After all, she was the one killing those people but Velen always insisted to be one to contact the family to tell them the news. She wasn't even sure she could do it.

"Khadgar went to the grocery store today, go eat something," Velen told her with a smile.

She could only nod before leaving the room faster than she intended. She reached the kitchen and looked at the food in the cupboard but she wasn't feeling angry so she simply made herself a coffee.

"Wait! Make one for me," Khadgar interrupted, carrying the last bag of groceries.

"You're too young to drink that much coffee."

“You’re not old enough to be cranky like that,” innocently smiled Khadgar.

“Well, make your coffee yourself,” she responded with a poker face while putting a second mug under the coffeemaker.

“Thanks, Maiev.”

Silence settled between them, only interrupted by the sound of the coffee falling into the mugs. Khadgar finished storing everything in the cupboard. Before it was done, the coffees were ready and Maiev took her mug, added a little sugar in it and mindlessly turned her spoon in the coffee. Those mornings were the worst for her.

“Khadgar,” she said, catching his attention. “There seem to have a lot of new demons recently in the area and we don’t know how unfriendly they are. Please be careful if you go to stretch your wings.”

The young man stopped everything he was doing and looked at Maiev, his face undecided on a shocked or happy expression.

“Are…Are you seriously caring about me?” he laughed a little. “That’s new.”

“Oh shut up.” She responded while leaving the room.

She moved to a training room and sat down, finishing her coffee. Khadgar was a fourth-generation hybrid and his only demonic attributes were feathered black wings and magic. He was technically weaker than most demons she was fighting but still stronger than a human and he had been lucky they recruited him before anyone else. Those kinds of hybrids were loved by the demons because they could easily sneak into human society and do a lot of damages before someone stops them. And now that she was thinking about it, maybe the tattoo had some meaning…

Maiev quickly shook her head and rubbed her face. Once again, she was justifying her killing more than just self-defense. Decided to empty her head, she put her phone on the little table next to the bench and went to a boxing bag and began to hit it, imagining the Betrayer and letting out all of her frustration. As the minutes went in, some other Hunters joined in the room and sat to watch Maiev almost destroy another bag in the month.

“So, what is it?” Whispered Marin.

“Velen told me she killed a teenager girl this night,” whispered back Sira.

“Her age?” Kept asking Marin.

Sira only nod and everyone in the room winced. The bag Maiev was hitting almost went flying when she kicked it. They kept watching her, knowing they’ll probably need to stop her before she would faint out of exhaustion. Maiev was not only the strongest human working for Velen but also the most determined of all of them, believing in justice more than anyone. Since she joined them, she hadn’t stopped hunting and protecting the city from the demons. Every week she had at least a kill and she was detaining the record of the most kill. She wasn’t the proudest about it and only had eyes for the Betrayer, it was the only death that mattered to her. The only one she could really justify.

Her phone vibrated on the table and by habit, Drelanim looked at it, forgetting it wasn’t her phone. She barely had the time to see what the text was but she saw the name of the contact.

“Hey, does any of you know someone called Illidan?” She whispered to the other Hunters.

They all looked at each other but no one heard about him.

“Uh…No…Why?” Asked Marin, still whispering to not bother Maiev.

“They just send Maiev a message and apparently it’s a saved contact because it’s wasn’t a number but directly the name.”

“You seriously read her messages?!”

“I didn’t, I just saw the name of the sender,” justified Drelanim.

“Alright but what was it saying?” asked Khadgar who just joined them.

“I told you I didn’t read it!”

“What’s happening?” interrupted Maiev, panting and sweating.

“Who’s Illidan?” Straight up asked Khadgar, a little smirk on his face.

“Oh…Just a guy I met two weeks ago.” She said, completely unbothered. “He tends to send me a text every day.”

“And you answer?” Asked Sira.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be really polite if I didn’t.”

Everyone in the room winced again, completely unnoticed by Maiev.

“Well, I’m going to take a shower. Later.” She said, taking her phone and walking away.

Once she left the room, the awkward silence weighed on the shoulders of everyone who was still inside.

“Poor guy,” whispered Sira.

“I’m feeling so bad for him,” added Marin.

“Shouldn’t we tell Maiev that he has a crush on her? So she could stop him right now before it’s too late?” Asked Khadgar.

“She won’t believe us,” Countered Sira. “Cordana had tried for months to tell her that someone in her class had a crush on her and it went way over her head. If Cordana gave up, there’s no chance for us. We can only hope he’ll be the one to give up in time.”

While they were discussing Maiev’s love life, she went to the bathroom and looked at the text.

“Hey, sorry to bother but I’m doing paperwork and it’s boring. You’re doing something this afternoon?” said the text with a little smiling emoji.

“Barely slept this night. I prefer staying home.” She simply responded.

A few minutes later, she got another text.

“What did you do to barely sleep?” Was asking Illidan with a smirking emoji this time.

“Nothing, just had a hard time sleeping.”

Illidan looked at his phone and frowned. He had no idea if the Warden was extremely clever or if he had been wrong all this time and that she wasn’t a Hunter at all. He sighed and sent one last text.

“Don’t hesitate to send a message if you change your mind,” he said, with a winking emoji.

“I’ll do.”

Illidan jumped back, avoiding the knife. In front of him, the Warden quickly moved to his side, targeting the ribs this time. He kept avoiding it, not getting the time to counter-attack. She was angry, more than usual, it wasn’t hard to see. Like always, she was swift and fast, always with an eye on him. He tried to catch her but she was already gone and ready to stab him in the back. His only chance was to destabilize her.

“Finally embracing your demonic side, Warden?” he asked while jumping a few feet behind. “Took you time.”

“How dare you!” she shouted, taking out a second knife. “I’m not filth such as you!”

Maybe it wasn’t his best idea but Illidan didn’t realize it at the moment.

“As if a mere human could have survived against me all along,” he laughed. “Welc –”

He looked at the knife passing right next to his head, ending up in the wall behind him. As he was ready to comment on how she missed him, as he hadn’t needed to move to dodge it, he realized it was a trap.

The pain in the guts took him by surprise. He gasped loudly and his sight became blurry while a buzzing sound got through his ears. In desperate attempt to save his life, he summoned a shield around him, sending the Warden to fly far away from him. Only a groan told him she had touched the ground. Using it at his advantage, he spread his wings and took off. Quickly, the pain forced him to land and he leaned against a wall, his hands on the wound. There, he realized the knife was still stuck in his body and he tried really hard to breathe calmly. It wasn’t the first time he was stabbed but it was as painful as the first time.

“I’m keeping that knife,” he muttered. “She’ll get it back only if I am the one stabbing her.”

Feeling not good at all, with his sight still not adjusted and dizziness denying him the possibility to get home. Anyway, he knew it wasn’t a wound he could take care of by himself. It wasn’t even sure that taking his human form would be a good idea and walking home, stabbed and in his demon form was an even worst idea. Sighing out loud, he took his phone and dialed a number on it.

“Hey, it’s me!” he joyfully said, hiding the pain. “Quick question, are you at work by any chance?”

Silence answered him as his contact seemed to think.

“Yes…”

“Good, I need to see you. Can you wait for me in the waiting room for demons?”

“Just take the normal entrance Illidan.”

“Oh come on! Do I have to say please? Because I could say it.”

“…”

“Please…?”

“Text me when you get here.”

“Nice, I knew I could count on you.”

Illidan heard a really big sigh coming from the other side of the line and then he hanged off. Now, he only had to drag his body to the hospital and hope for the best.

He finally reached the hospital and never been so grateful that they created the system of emergency. Back in the beginning, he would have got the time to die thrice waiting for someone to help him. Avoiding the usual entrance that the humans were using, he went to a little alley on the back with a seemingly sealed door that he opened without a problem. The entrance reserved for the demons who couldn’t go through the normal one. Leaning against a wall, he sent the text announcing his arrival.

Barely a few seconds after, a doctor went through the door to welcome him. The man stopped and opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it, sighing loudly.

“Hey Malf,” said Illidan, raising his hand to wave at his brother. “I got stabbed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it ^^
> 
> See you next week for a chapter of Betrayer and her Warden (that won't be the last actually, forget what I said in the notes of Chapter 11 ^^')


	4. Brother, My Brother, Tell Me What We're Fighting For?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy !

Malfurion was sitting at his desk, looking at his brother, a hand on his face.

“Stop touching the bandage or the wound will re-open.” He said.

Illidan slowly got his hand off his waist and put it back on the armrest of the chair he was sitting on.

As soon as Illidan stopped laughing and almost fainted, Malfurion called a nurse to help him and they immediately treated the stabbing wound. After that, Illidan was finally able to change back to his human form even if the pain was still there. He wasn’t going to forget that night anytime soon.

“The Warden?” finally asked Malfurion.

“Who else use knives?” Bitterly responded Illidan.

“Could you at least warn me directly next time? I thought you were just coming here to waste my time.”

Illidan looked offended.

“I’m never wasting your time!”

“Last week? When you couldn’t decide which tie you wanted to wear?” Malfurion reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

“…Unless I’m actively wasting your time on purpose.” Admitted Illidan. “But you have to agree it had been funny. You were looking grumpy before I get here.”

Malfurion tried to hide the chuckle and Illidan only smiled victoriously.

“Anyway. I can only recommend you to stay in that form for about two weeks.” Malfurion said. “Let the wound heal and avoid any Betrayer activity for now. And I cannot stress this enough…Do not get in contact with the Warden before it completely healed. You will just get killed.”

Illidan laughed out loud before the pain in his guts forced him to stop. He crouched on himself, holding his side. Malfurion just sighed.

“Don’t worry,” he finally said, straightening up. “She cannot kill me and – ”

“She stabbed you.”

“Maybe but I’m not dead.”

“Thanks to?”

Illidan rolled his eyes.

“Thank you brother I love and cherish.”

“That’s better,” Malfurion said with a grin.

“Do I really have to say that every time? It’s getting tiresome.”

“I’m the eldest -” smiled Malfurion.

“Hey! Mom never told us who was born first,” retorted Illidan with an outraged tone before coughing his lungs out again.

“We both know it’s true, look into your hea –”

“We’re not doing this,” sighed Illidan as he stood and that Malfurion was refraining a laugh.

Illidan winced as he moved toward the desk and knew the first few days of recovery were going to be hell. “Good, one more motivation to kill the Warden,” he thought as he reached his brother.

“By the way…Which hours is it?” He asked, keeping his hands over his stomach.

“Almost 6 am,” answered his brother after a quick look on the computer.

Illidan groaned out loud. He had hoped he still could have a good night of rest but his plan would be ruined now, especially if he had to tone down the Betrayer’s nocturnal activity for a while. He couldn’t afford to sleep all day.

“I’m going to go home,” he finally said. “Better get the rest of the night.”

With a straight face, Malfurion pushed towards Illidan the little jar with candy that was on his desk.

“As you had been a big boy, you can take one,” he said, keeping the poker face.

Illidan hid the sigh, as his brother would do the same joke every single time he had to leave his office, and got a lollipop out of the jar.

“You bet I do,” he retorted with a smile and put the candy in his mouth. “Well, I’m going.”

“Be careful!” Malfurion added as Illidan was already opening the door. “The Warden might still be patrolling.”

“I’m not scared of her,” simply said Illidan while leaving.

Malfurion sighed a little more and looked at the picture on his desk, he and Illidan, taken a few years ago. If only cameras had been invented way before they actually were, some memories could have stayed with them.

“I know,” he answered in the silence of the room. “This is why I want you to be careful.”

As Illidan made his way through the hallways of the hospital, he took his phone and quickly looked at it. He had one text and it was from Anlya, ominously telling him that she knew. Illidan winced as Malfurion probably warned her about him being stabbed and there was a high chance that she was waiting for him at that moment. He got rid of the notification and ended up in the historic of the conversation he had with Maiev. For a moment, he thought of pestering her but as he could still feel the pain, he went against it. Even if Maiev wasn’t the Warden, she was probably related to her and he wasn’t in the mood of faking being nice to her.

And anyway, it was going nowhere for the moment. Taking a break from it could only help.

“Oh hi, Maiev!” Waved Illidan, stopping right in front of “Deliciously Sweet” as Maiev did the same. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Hi,” she simply responded. “Wasn’t expecting you either.”

Illidan stepped back a few inches and showed her the door in a way to say: “After you.” and Maiev accepted the offer, muttering a thank you as she walked in front of him. As she did, Illidan noticed the scratches covering the left side of her face and put that information away for a few seconds, instead, he breathed deeply and repressed an annoyed growl. Knowing that it could be the Warden, Illidan had no envy to see her anytime soon. So, of course, he was running into her. Putting back a smile on his face, he followed her into the bakery.

“You got hurt?” He asked with a worried tone while his hand instinctively reached her face to touch the scratches.

“Yeah, stupid story,” she said, not moving away from his hand. “Tripped and my face landed right on the pavement.”

Illidan winced and let out a little “ouch” as if he had been the one to trip. But at the same time, he had no idea how the fight really ended as the pain didn’t allow him to see, literally. Once again Maiev was scoring in “Is actually the Warden” possibility but the idea that it was all just one big coincidence and that he was going to kill an innocent wouldn’t leave his mind. Taking a little more time to be one hundred percent sure that Maiev and the Warden were the same people was the only solution for now.

“What do you take?” he asked, changing the subject to the food while looking at her with a grin. “I’m offering.”

“No need,” she only said, crossing her arms, almost offended.

“Alright, if you say so. But do we share the table?”

“Why not,” she muttered more than said.

As the waitresses took their orders separately, Illidan kept an eye on Maiev. He knew his plan would take more than a few hours but he was so impatient to kill the Warden that he would almost risk the life of what could be an innocent. The fact that the stabbing wound was still hurting didn’t help in the slightest.

They moved to a little table for two and sat, eating in silence. Finding a subject to talk about that wasn’t straight up asking if she was the Warden was harder than he first thought. He could try to bring up the subject of the demons but if she was innocent, she might not even be aware of their existence and he would either scare her away or she could make a scene. Neither of those options was a good idea. Talking about her job in cleaning could be a good way to find whether it’s true or not but would probably come from nowhere as they barely talked about that the last time. And asking about her friends would probably be too intrusive.

He had absolutely no idea how to get information from her.

“I wonder how many times we could have met before,” she said, interrupting his thoughts. “I mean…You seem to be regular with how you joke with the waitress and I’m one too…”

Illidan chuckled. He forgot he wasn’t the only one who could start a conversation.

“That’s the question,” he responded, moving to the back of his chair, toying with the spoon in his coffee. “I’ve started to come here about…Four years ago I think. And I come at least once per week, sometimes more.”

“About five years for me…I wonder if we really never came at the same time or just, never noticed the other.”

Illidan frowned at the idea that he could have met her way before that one morning. If it had happened, would he still have some suspicions over her being the Warden? Or would he had befriended her without even thinking about the possibility?

“I guess we’ll never know. But that’s crazy when we think about it.”

Maiev took a bite of her sandwich and Illidan lost himself in his mind. That woman was destabilizing him as she wasn’t at all like the image he had of the Warden. Maiev was almost philosophical and in her little world. Would he dare to say that she also kind of cute with how she tried to have a conversation with him instead of leaving them in silence? Meanwhile, he was sure the Warden would be more straightforward and constantly angry, always aware of her surroundings. The biggest difference was that the Warden’s eyes would relentlessly give him the impression that she would stab him at any moment while Maiev’s eyes were softer. In the end, maybe he had desperately clanged onto the idea that she was the Warden that his mind matched every little clue, forgetting the one telling him she wasn’t that person.

Illidan smiled as he felt the pain in his guts.

He was so going to make her suffer and stab her to death with her own knives if she happened to be the Warden.

“By the way, how boring is your job?” Maiev asked, getting him out of his mind. “Every time you send a message, it’s because of paperwork.”

Illidan laughed out loud, taken aback. A few customers turned their heads to look at him and he quickly muffled it.

“Yeah, I need to work on my messages but at the same time, you wouldn’t believe how much paperwork I have to do.”

“Tell me, like that I’ll know if I have to save you or not the next time.”

“Well, I have about twenty employees and each week, I have to get all the papers done for them to get their salary,” he began to explain in all seriousness. “I need to not only calculate how many hours they worked, but also what they did exactly because depending on the client we worked with, they might get more if they did a good job.”

Talking about his clan killing to protect the city without giving away the truth was easier than he thought. He kept giving some explanation and had a hard time not giving in to the usual praise he had for his clan. After all, some of them had been following him since the very beginning and never gave up on him. Without their loyalty, he could have died a long time ago.

“And I’m not even talking about all the paper I have to fill when we get a client,” he slowed down. “It’s taking about three-quarters of my day and this is when there isn’t some complication with the client.”

Maiev had a little smile as she listened to him and he realized with horror that he probably talked too much and especially of a really boring topic.

“I understand better why you prefer texting me,” she said. “I won’t promise anything but I’ll see if I could help next time you get bored.”

“Don’t force yourself,” he laughed again, more discreetly. “It often helps me to concentrate again to know that I’m really alone with those papers.”

“Alright then, I’ll leave you alone with them,” she smiled, grinning.

“I guess your cleaning job is more exciting,” he said, throwing the bait.

“Not really,” she said in all seriousness. “I get there, clean and go home. Nothing exciting.”

“At least you’re not stuck at a desk all day.”

“I would have preferred actually but I got used to my job.”

They kept talking about their respective job, never going too much into the details, afraid to let it slip that it was more than what they were saying. Laughs could be heard coming from them and for a moment, Illidan almost forgot the suspicions he had on Maiev and allowed himself to enjoy the moment, something he wouldn’t dare to do with someone who barely knew him.

As their conversation seemed to have no end, Maiev’s phone ended up ringing and she took it with the will to hang off and keep talking to Illidan but the name on it got her to do the inverse.

“Oh wait, it’s a friend I hadn’t seen in years,” she said as Cordana’s name was on the call. “I’m taking the call and I’m coming back.”

She got up, smiled at him and left the bakery, staying right in front of the windows where Illidan could still see her.

He almost hoped that Maiev wasn’t the Warden or he would have to make her pay even more.

Kor’vas groaned as she inspected the demons at her feet while Anlya began to cast a fast hiding spell on the blood on the street.

“Neither of them can be identified,” she told Anlya. “And if you hadn’t get there, some might have run away.”

“Why would they do that?” Signed the Mute. “Usually they fight to the death.”

“I don’t know but we’ll have to warn the Betrayer,” she carefully said, knowing they couldn’t use Illidan’s real name. “Five demons in one evening isn’t a good sign.”

Anlya looked down at the bodies and crossed her arms over her chest. If she had learned something after all those years fighting for her life, it’s that so many new demons in such a short span of times were meaning of a bigger attack.

She uncrossed her arms and looked at Kor’vas, getting her attention.

“Maybe the Legion found us after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!
> 
> To be honest, it might be the last chapter of Hasard before 2020.   
> Next week, it'll be the last chapter of "Betrayer and her Warden" and then, I still have one week to finish August and I was thinking of dropping a chapter for Travel as that fic had been in hiatus for over a year now (against my will actually) and I would like to show that it isn't dead.
> 
> Well, I'll tell you more next week when I finally decided on what to publish on the 31th !
> 
> See you next week ^^


	5. A Flower Arrangement Made With Your Face In Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> We're back for three months of weekly updates and we start right away with Hasard. We're going to leave our main characters for a chapter as a way to set up a little more the B plot of the story (A Plot being Maiev and Illidan relationship). I hope you'll like it nonetheless.

"What do you mean the Legion found us?" Asked Kayn, getting the newspaper down. "It's just a coincidence."

"How can you be so sure? We killed five of them just tonight," explained Kor'vas, throwing the wallets on the table in front of the demon. "And it's been a week that we had to kill those. At least one by night! They must know!"

"That's ridiculous! We've been hiding in this city for decades now. If they couldn't find us in the first year, why would they find us now?" Replied Kayn, tempted to laugh at the other demon's face but perfectly knowing it wasn't the best idea.

"I don't know! But it's suspicious!"

"And what? You're going to tell Illidan? Cause if this is just a coincidence and not really an attack, we'll regret it. He made it clear that he didn't want to be bothered if it isn't really important," reminded Kayn, looking at the woman in front of him.

Anlya suddenly clapped her hands together to get the attention of the two demons and quickly signed some words.

"We shouldn't fight over whether it's true or not. We should better prepare ourselves, just in case."

"You think it could be true?" Asked Kayn, looking down.

"We always knew that peace could only be temporary," replied Anlya with signs. "And you also know how much _he_ holds a grudge."

With the pronoun, Anlya pretended to spit on the floor. She was shaking and held her wrist in a desperate attempt to calm down. Kor'vas quickly joined her and gently patted her upper back, in the hope to ease her. Almost all of them could remember the faithful night that brought humans to dominate the planet instead of the demons, but few of them actually knew what happened for it to happen. They were only three to know it and Anlya was apparently the one that was holding the biggest grudge against the Legion. But no matter how much the Illidari would question their leader or Anlya, they were refusing to talk about it.

"Do not bother Illidan with it for now," she finally signed, straightening. "He made it clear he was really busy."

"By the way," interrupted Kayn. "Do you know what he is doing?"

"He didn't say anything to me," the Mute replied. "He'll probably talk about it when he feels like it. But in the meantime, we do not bother him!"

"Understood," said Kayn, elbowing Kor'vas to get her to agree with him.

Knowing she could count on the two demons, Anlya left the room and wandered through the hallways of their house. It was a building that Illidan had bought when they all moved in the city, around fifty years ago, after they had been forced to leave the last city after they had been outed, not only to the Legion, but also to the Priesthood, a relentless organization who had the objective to kill every demon, no matter whether they were part of the Legion or not. For about fifty years, they live relatively in peace, but for the occasional demon they had to slay, or when they would come across the Warden or one of her Hunter's friend. Otherwise, life had been nice. But she couldn't get out of her head the fact that they had to kill five demons from the Legion in one night. They had always been careful to not out themselves, so why would they send so many people? They couldn't even know if the demons were killed by another demon or a Hunter, as they would always get rid of the bodies. It wasn't making sense.

Anlya sighed out loud as her steps led her to Illidan's floor, the highest of the building and a little house inside the house. Since he got stabbed, a good week ago, he was mostly spending all his time in his place, wishing death on the Warden and pacing like a lion in a cage. Even if she said herself that they shouldn't bother him with the possibility of the Legion finding them, Anlya hesitated to knock on the door and to just talk to Illidan about it. Probably a bad idea, as he was easily irritated since the stab, and that the stress of maybe an impending attack would surely worsen his state. Still, she decided to knock. At least to be sure he was alright.

"Um?" Illidan only muttered as he opened the door, finishing a text on his phone and then, putting it back to his pocket, finally looking at Anlya.

"I'm going out," she told him with her hands. "Need anything?"

“The Warden’s head,” he growled as he instinctively put a hand over his wound.

“Yeah, no. I want to live,” she replied. “You are the only fool searching the fight with her and anyway, that’s out of my abilities. Anything else?”

Illidan groaned a little more as he crossed his arms on his bust, looking up and Anlya had no idea if it was because he didn’t take well her words or if he was just thinking. In his pocket, his phone vibrated with the announcement of a text and his first impulse had been to grab it but he stopped himself as Anlya looked at him intrigued, especially that he had started to smile.

“I’m good, go do whatever you have to.”

“Good day to you too,” she quickly signed with a sigh before Illidan closed the door on her.

The demon stayed a little more in front of the door, in case Illidan would suddenly remember that he had been rude but she knew it was hopeless. Ever since he told them he had some important matter to attend and that he was delegating most of the works to everyone else, he had been acting strangely. Every Illidari had their opinion on what was happening but no one had the possibility to know the truth. She only hoped it was really important and not something childish, especially with the threat of the Legion, they couldn’t afford to lose time like that. Now, all that they could do, was to get ready in case of an attack.

As she walked through the building, she counted in her head all the forces they had to counter-attack the Legion. With the Illidari, they were barely a dozen. If they could count on Malfurion, despite his claims of not wanting to fight, and a few of his acquaintance, they could get to fifteen members. She was also wondering if she shouldn’t try and contact the Prophet, leader of the Hunters of the city. It was technically a bad idea because the Warden was working for him and there was no way Illidan and she could work together without bringing everyone in their own demise, but it would have allowed them to go up to twenty, twenty-five defenders. And after that, all that she could do was to go and meet known demon hiding in the city.

She sighed and stopped at the front door, taking a quick look into the mirror to make sure she was looking human, and she grabbed her keys and left the building, knowing she had to start on that very day to gather forces. Illidan was currently useless unless they could prove the Legion was attacking, and all the problems were there. They had no proof the Legion had found them. No proof that they were going to attack. Sure, it was strange to have killed so many of them in such a short time but it could just have been a coincidence and Anlya was currently basing her fear on presentiment. But she wasn’t going to wait to be proven right to act.

Her steps led her in the center of the city, animated as always and she made her way into the crowd until she reached a little flower shop. Stopping in front of it, she took a look inside by the windows, only seeing a vendor currently busy with a customer, and unfortunately, not the one she was searching. For a moment, she hesitated to open and go inside but then, she decided that at worst, she could leave a message. Gathering her courage, she pushed the door open.

Her recruitment was starting, and with probably the hardest demon in all the city to convince.

“Welcome,” joyfully said a voice as the door rang, coming from the exact opposite from where the vendor she saw was.

She turned towards the counter and the person she was searching was exactly there.

“Altruis!” she signed with a big smile. “I needed to see you.”

Altruis immediately dropped his smile and pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing so deeply that all of his body showed it. Then, he breathed more calmly and looked back at Anlya, who was trying to keep a friendly smile despite the reaction of the former Illidari.

“Nael,” he said out loud, interrupting the single vendor. “I have something to do, I’ll be in the break room if you need me.”

“No problem Boss!” the young vendor replied before going back to the customer.

Altruis quickly signed to Anlya to follow him and she had a warm smile at the idea that he was still using her own sign language to talk to her. Despite just having been one sign and not a full conversation. She followed him to a back room and showed her a chair, telling her she could sit, knowing it was probably not just a little visit to know how he was going currently.

“Anlya,” he began softly, ready to repeat the same thing that he already said, over and over again over the years. “I’ve been clear, I won’t come back to the Illidari, especially not if Illidan is still obsessed with the Warden. It was really nice of him to help us and give us a home for almost nothing but he’s just going to get himself killed and us with him.”

He made a little break, remembering that Illidan had probably been the first demon to actually care about him, so long ago when the demons were controlling the world and that because of his family, Altruis had been treated like a reject. In all the Illidari of demonic ascendance, he was the one with the more human traits, even in his demon form. The curse of being a hybrid of second generation in a time where the hybrids were considered as less than a human. But Illidan found him and protected him, along with other rejects, and when the time had come, they fought together for a better future. But the times had changed.

“Anyway, life is different now,” he quickly added, chasing away his thoughts. “We can easily live peacefully amongst humans and I’m happier with my current life.”

Anlya looked away for a moment, her mouth hidden behind her hand. The idea of recruiting him back to the Illidari was already flushing down the toilet but she hoped she could get him to be concerned about the situation at least. And it would have probably been a good idea to admit a few things.

“Well, first of all, Illidan never really sent me here to get you back,” she admitted, thankful that she didn’t have to say it out loud. “Maybe once or twice when you left but otherwise, it was my decision to come and talk to you every time.”

Altruis quickly rubbed his face, mostly to hide the blush appearing on his face.

“Even this information won’t make me forgive Illidan…” began the man.

“I miss you,” interrupted Anlya with a small gesture but that Altruis clearly saw.

“Yeah me too,” he replied, rubbing his face harder as if he was exhausted, only to hide the blush and smile.

But then, he realized it was strange that she would finally admit to having acted on her own, instead of just keeping Illidan as a shield in case something was going wrong.

“Why telling me this now?”

Anlya sighed and clutched on her arms before relaxing and get ready to explain everything.

“We killed five demons associated with the Legion last night and so much more those last weeks. We have no real proof that it isn’t just a big coincidence and that maybe they were just all taking a vacation here without any knowledge of us being here…But we can also fear a bigger attack at some point in the near future.”

Altruis’ smile dropped immediately at those signs and he leaned against furniture, holding on it to not fall on the ground. He had never liked the Legion, not when it was ruling over the world, and especially not when it was trying to retake the world by killing the dissidents. Them.

“You want me to come back and fight isn’t it?” he whispered, trying to make a decision.

“I wanted to warn you, and yes, if I know that I can count on you to fight if needed, it would ease my mind.”

“I won’t join back the Illidari, that’s one thing sure,” he began, finally taking his decision. “But this is my city. I have my shop here and my life. No way I’ll let those demons change anything in it. If something happens, you’ll just have to contact me and I’ll come and fight.”

“Thank you!” she signed wildly.

“Now that I know Illidan doesn’t care about my affiliation, I will give you my number, just text or call me if needed.”

“I’ll try not to abuse it,” she replied with a playful smirk.

“I know how to block a number,” he added in the same tone.

He walked her back to the main shop and at the counter, they exchanged their phone to add each other’s number in them and then, Anlya bowed a little to tell him goodbye and she left the store.

Maybe Altruis hadn’t joined them, but she knew she could count on him for when hell would be unleashed on the city. If it ever happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it!
> 
> See you next week for the next update. It'll be for Travel !


	6. Willingly Accepting Your Death Isn't As Easy As I Thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Just a little reminder that until March, 13th, I'm opening a fic giveaway on Tumblr! All information here: https://thewritingof-therose.tumblr.com/post/190937302172
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this new chapter of Hasard!

Velen was leisurely browsing through the local news on his computer, making sure that none of his Hunters had been spotted during their works, but like always, it was nothing important, nor supernatural that was the subject of the articles. The only article that had some importance was the announcement that the election for the town’s mayor would start soon, with the presentation of the candidate and their promises for the future of the town, and Velen made himself a mental note to follow it. After all, without the politicians, the different hunts would be a lot different as to what it was currently. But with new politicians, everything could change too. There were different kinds of politicians but they all had one common point, they would be made aware of the demon’s existence as soon as they get into a position of power, as most demons were now civilians like the humans. Then, you had the politicians that were already part-demon or grew up in a friendly demon community, and they would be some of the best for the city as they would make sure to accommodate the city in a way that the friendly demons can live in peace, while the Hunters can do their job quietly. But there was also the one who either discovered the demon’s existence when being elected, or who grew up in an unfriendly demon’s community, and it was the more difficult part. They wouldn’t hesitate to almost throw the secret under the bus just to get rid of every demon in their city, and the worst was that they would also target the Hunters, no matter how many of them are humans. Like always, Velen had to keep an eye on the election to know how to react.

But they still had a good year in front of them before anyone get elected.

Heavy steps in front of his door got him out of his thoughts and he rose his head to look towards the source of the sound. It wasn’t the first time today that he was hearing those heavy steps, made as if someone was really angry and were stomping in a way to show it. He would hear them going right to left, and after some time, thirty to sixty minutes, it would go left to right, only to come back toward the left again after five minutes. Intrigued, he got up from his desk and reached the calendar on the wall and looked at the date but it was just a normal Wednesday and no cross was visible for the days to come. He shook his head and sighed. He had a few ideas as to what – or most likely who – was walking like that, but he had no other choices but to go, find the source, and calm her.

Leaving his office, he went directly towards the left side of the buildings and quickly reached the main training room. Just by stepping outside, he could hear the sound of a punching bag being violently punched and it made no doubt that he would have to order a new batch of them soon enough. Silently, he opened the door and slipped in, knowing that making a sound could result in an unpleasant knife’s wound.

As expected, Maiev was trying really hard to not destroy yet another punching bag. The demon could see her hands shifting into knives’ holding position but at the same time, she was completely empty-handed and all of her knives, at least the one she brought with her, were put down on the small table in front of the resting couch. It was a good sign, as she wouldn’t damage the bag with cuts, but Velen also knew that if she really wanted it, Maiev could destroy the bag with her bare hands. As the woman was still concentrated on the bag and hadn’t noticed Velen yet, the demon went to sit down on the couch, still as silent as he could and he waited for her to stop her outlet.

“Maiev?” he simply said once she put down her fists to breathe.

The woman immediately jumped away, almost tripping and falling on the floor but she succeeded to stay on her feet and she quickly looked around, panicked, until she put her sight on Velen. She breathed more calmly and took her face in her hands, hating to be caught off-guard like that.

“Sorry Velen,” she muttered, rubbing her face.

The man just chuckled and brushed off her reaction.

“It’s nothing,” he told her before taking a more serious tone. “But what’s on your mind?”

She let out a small laugh as she put a hand over the bag, to keep herself in balance.

“That’s just my weekly training, why would there be something’s wrong?”

But Velen knew Maiev for long enough to see through the lie and, no luck for her, he knew exactly the word that would get her out of her shell.

“Betray –”

The bag went flying through the room as Maiev punched it with her free hand, only for her to curl on herself, holding her wrist as she punched way too hard and without thinking, hurting herself in the process. Velen didn’t even have to finish the name that he knew full well where the problem was laying.

“So…” he began once Maiev stopped hissing from the pain. “What did he do this time?”

She looked away and glared at the poor punching bag now laying down on the floor, probably regretting that she could hit it anymore.

“I might have killed him, and I can’t even know,” she finally muttered.

Velen raised an eyebrow at her, not expecting such reaction with those words.

“Why do you think that?”

“I…We…We fought like, three weeks ago and it ended…weirdly.”

She was searching for her words, not really being sure if that night hadn’t just been a fever dream.

“He made me angry and I just did what I had to and stabbed him. I know I succeeded and I think he retaliated more by reflex than anything, but he just expulsed me away and I fell on the pavement.”

Remembering the event, she brought her hand to her cheek, were the shock left scratches and that she was even surprised she didn’t get a scar out of it when she remembered how she had to clean the cut and rubbles from her face. Thanks to her mask, she avoided most of the damages.

“I couldn’t really see because the shock made me dizzy, but I heard him flying away. I couldn’t find my knife anymore so I guess it stayed in his guts. But since, I haven’t seen him, not even a trace of his presence.”

“So, you think you could have killed him that night?”

She only nodded, slowly crossing her arms over her bust.

“But I don’t want it to happen like that,” she whispered before going back to an angrier tone. “I want to celebrate! To see the light fade from his eyes! I want to throw his fucking body into a bin by myself and laugh! I want to make him pay, to make him suffer!”

“Maiev, calm down!” Said Velen, jumping away from the couch to reach the young woman, now crying with rage.

He immediately took her in his arms and gently brushed her back until he would feel her relax.

“I can’t let it happen like that,” she muttered as she began to furiously brush away her tears with her arms.

“I cannot know whether the Betrayer is dead or not, I’m sorry,” Velen whispered.

Maiev only groaned, not really knowing how to feel herself. She didn’t know if she wanted him to be really dead or alive, only to kill him correctly this time and make him suffer as much as she wanted to.

“You need a break, let’s go to the kitchen,” told Velen, a compassionate arm over her shoulders as he guided her towards the exit of the room.

They walked through the hallways of the building until they reached the little kitchen being used as a resting room for most of the hunters after their training. He let Maiev go sit at the table while he prepared two coffee mugs. The woman was now done with the angry crying and was just looking through the windows, her eyes empty of any feelings for a moment. Velen put down the mug in front of her and she still smiled at him as a way to thank him, only to go back to her aimless look towards the sunny day.

“I heard the others talk about the fact that you made a new friend recently?” Velen said, trying to change the subject of the day.

He saw her eyes brightening at that mention and the demon knew he found the right subject.

“We can say that,” she smiled shyly. “His name’s Illidan and –”

The name brought back a memory to Velen.

_He was still remembering the sunny morning, walking slowly through the streets with the bouquet of flowers in his hands. Walking reluctantly. He finally found the house he had to go and when he rang, the door opened to a big purple demon. His eyes were empty but he still tried to smile as he saw Velen._

_“I should have guessed you would come…”_

_“I’m sorry Illidan,” Velen said, the name now carved in his memories. “But we knew it would happen.”_

_The demon only shrugged and turned around to let Velen in._

Velen could only smile sadly at that memory, but he quickly changed it to look at Maiev again.

“It’s just…” Maiev was continuing, not realizing that Velen had been lost in his mind. “There’s something about him that I can’t quite understand…”

The demon could only remember all those conversations he had through the years with different peoples as they began to understand their growing feelings for someone and he had often wondered when it would be the case for Maiev.

“And what is it?” he asked, trying to push her in the right direction.

“I don’t know where it comes from but…Every time I see him, talk to him, even simply texting or thinking about him…I have that little voice in my head.”

She made a break, looking at the coffee slowly cooling down between her hands.

“It’s telling me to run,” she finally admitted. “To run and never turn back. Or to stab first. And stab again and again until his body is cold at my feet.”

She had whispered those last words but they echoed through the silent room. Taking a deep breath, she put her head backward and looked at the ceiling, thinking about everything.

“We haven’t talked about demons at all, but I’m starting to wonder if it could be that Illidan is one…It could explain why my instinct is reacting badly to his presence.”

“Why not asking him then?” Intervened Velen, still a little surprise that Maiev could feel such a strong killing vibe towards someone that wasn’t the Betrayer.

She tried to laugh but it was just hollow and sadness washed over her face once again.

“And screw up like every other time? No thanks. If he isn’t a demon and isn’t aware of their existence, I can say farewell to him if I open my mouth,” she said bitterly.

“But why do you keep talking to him then?”

“Well, there’s no evidence that the little voice is right and honestly, he’s nice and I like to talk to him. And for once that I can get distracted from the Betrayer and my job…”

Velen gently agreed by nodding. Maiev was probably the only Hunter who was living for hunting the demons and nothing else. All of her friends came from the Hunters group that Velen created, and she was doing nothing else from her life. It was actually the first time that she was admitting that it was hard on her and Velen regretted that she had to chose that path, but only the Gods knew that he did everything to give her another chance to not become a Hunter.

“You really think you will be able to follow through without running away or killing him?”

“I only kill demons,” she replied, her fingers closing on an invisible knife.

“And if he’s one?”

“I’ll kill him if it’s necessary.”

Velen looked away, thinking about everything he just learned as it stormed through his mind, trying to know what to make out of it. He finally smiled and drank what was left of his coffee.

“I’ll trust your judgment,” he told her as her face brightened.

“Thanks,” she smiled back.

“By the way, Khadgar is planning to patrol this night as he noticed there had been a lot of foreign demons recently. Maybe you want to join him and evaluate the situation by yourself? After all, he’s still young.”

Maiev closed her eyes as she thought about it, only to opened them back with a carnivorous smile.

“He would hate it if I join,” she told Velen, still smiling. “Count me in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> See you next Saturday for a new chapter of Travel ^^


	7. A Laugh That Will Echo Through The Ages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Enjoy this new chapter of Hasard ^^

“Why would Velen asks you to come with me?” groaned Khadgar, lacing his shoes.

“You’re the baby of the group, you need someone to watch over you when you’re doing something dangerous,” Maiev retorted in all seriousness, already prepared for the night.

“Ah. Ah. Ah,” Khadgar faked laughed, rolling his eyes. “And the truth?”

“Too many new demons. He wants me to evaluate the situation myself.”

Saying that, she finished writing a text on her phone, explaining to Illidan that she was too tired to talk that night and that she was going to sleep early. After all, he didn’t need to know about her nocturnal activities.

“And you are really forced to come?” kept asking Khadgar, checking on the two knives hanging on his belt.

“I could save your life,” Maiev mischievously smiled.

“It would be a shame if I was the one to save you,” retorted the young man, with the same smile as the woman.

“You might think you’re more powerful than me, but that’s a lie you’re telling yourself.”

“I have magic me,” pointed Khadgar.

“And I don’t need it to be the best hunters in this household.”

“Stop!” Intervened Sira, opening the door from the living-room. “Maiev…You’re already past your thirties! Don’t you have better thing to do than pick a fight with Khadgar? He’s barely an adult!”

“Hey! I’m already 22!” retorted Khadgar, offended at Sira’s comment.

“So please, just act like two adults and go on that patrol in silence!” Continued Sira, ignoring Khadgar.

“Your show is starting?” simply asked Maiev.

Sira looked at her in silence, glaring deadly at the other woman.

“My show is starting,” she reluctantly admitted after a heavy silence.

“Alright, we’re leaving then,” Maiev said, moving her head in a way that said “let’s go” while looking at Khadgar.

Sira thanked the two other Hunters and went back to the living-room while Khadgar reached the front door first. Maiev quickly checked her phone, only to see Illidan’s reply, wishing her good night with a little winking smiley. She looked at it for what seemed an eternity to her, a bad feeling taking over her, but she quickly brushed it off and followed the young man outside.

If it was true that more demons were running through the streets at night, it wasn’t going to be a calm night.

They had agreed to start by the outer streets of the city and then, they would slowly go back towards the main center, taking care of any demons that would show themselves to be hostile. If they were to meet demons but that they were just walking around and not wishing any harm on anyone, they would let them go. It wasn’t really Maiev’s way of doing things, as she was more of an “attack then asks questions” type, but when she was working with someone else, such as Khadgar who was a “see the best in anyone” kind of person, she could tone down her aggressivity and let them be in charge of the patrolling.

Next to her, the young man was contrasting with the woman. As a magic wielder, he was taking less seriously his safety than Maiev, and decided to just stay in simple clothes instead of the padded one, and Kevlar jacket that she was wearing. He only had a jean but military boots, allowing him to travel more and be comfortable in fights. Over the jean, he had a simple shirt, covered by a long sweater, looking like a lab coat, tied at the waist by a big belt, from where were hanging two knives in case he had to go in melee fight. Over that one sweater, he had put a small coat, only covering his shoulders and with a high collar to hide the part of his face. Both the sweater and coat had been tailored with two holes in the back so he could spread his wings if he had to use them. Finally, he was also wearing a red hooded cloak with black wings around the shoulders, the hood hiding the upper part of his face and also the wings if needed. On his back, he was carrying a long stick with a raven carved at the top. With winter coming up, Khadgar rubbed his hands, gloved, together to warm them. Unless he was preparing some magic trick.

“So…” he began, as innocently as he could trick Maiev. “I heard you made a friend that isn’t from a Hunter…”

“Private life,” she stopped him. “Concentrate on the patrol instead.”

It’s not that Maiev didn’t want to talk about Illidan, despite that odd feeling she had every time she was reminded of his existence, but she was taking her job really seriously. And any mention of their private life while working could lead to disastrous consequences if any demons were to hear them, especially the belligerent one. As they walked past a street of old abandoned factories buildings, Maiev felt a cold shiver rolling down her spine and she looked up, but couldn’t see anything. Still, she would have sworn someone was looking at her.

“Be careful,” she whispered to Khadgar. “Demons might be close.”

“How can you be sure?”

Maiev kept looking at the roof of the abandoned buildings, trying to catch a glimpse of what was giving her that feeling.

“I had the sensation that someone was stabbing me in the back,” she explained. “Of course, I know that this isn’t literal, but the feeling was strong.”

“Warden,” Khadgar began, perfectly knowing he couldn’t use her real name. “Which demon doesn’t want to stab you in the back? It doesn’t mean we’re actually in danger.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked, almost offended.

“Even the friendly demons don’t really like you. Whatever you do, you sound like a threat to anyone and I know a lot of them that would preventively stab you.”

Maiev only looked at him, raising an eyebrow at that information and putting some doubt to it.

“Stop talking as if it was all the demons that were thinking that. For example, Prophet wouldn’t raise his hand on me.”

Khadgar chuckled.

“Prophet saw your death, so he just has to wait for it to happen.”

Immediately, Maiev slapped the back of his head, with enough force to make him stumbled and almost fall on the pavement.

“Think before you speak,” she told him dryly, glaring at him.

He muttered a sorry and they went back to walk in silence. It wasn’t an easy subject the fact that Velen was able to see the fate of everyone he was meeting. He wouldn’t give any information on those and wouldn’t try to go against what he saw, and often, he had to suffer through deaths he knew about, and from what the Hunters gathered through the years, it had been cursed with that ability for a very long time. Sometimes, they would joke about it between them, but at other times, it was a really sensitive subject.

They slowly reached the middle between the center and the outside of the city, but Maiev still felt that stabbing sensation, as if someone was trying to pierce through her body to reach her heart and crushed it between their hands. It wasn’t a nice sensation to have but she couldn’t do anything against it. Instead, she put her hands over one her knife and began to play with it, unsheathing and sheathing it back constantly, getting Khadgar to eye side her nervously. But before he could ask her to stop, they saw someone walking towards them, clearly not afraid to be there in the middle of the night. Maiev quickly unsheathed a few of her knives but left them on the belt and took a few steps ahead of Khadgar.

“Good evening,” Maiev started, as soon as she got closer to the stranger, noticing that it was a woman. “Can I ask you a few questions?”

The woman looked at Maiev and Khadgar, right behind her, observing them carefully.

“You are Hunters isn’t it?” she asked, clearly seeing the knives hanging from Maiev’s belt.

“So, I guess you know about the demons,” Maiev stated, not even asking.

“Yes. I am one myself but I do not wish any harms in this city,” she quickly explained, putting her hands in front of her to show that she wasn’t armed.

“What kind of demons are you? How do you call yourself? And what are you doing here?” Maiev kept asking.

Meanwhile, she discreetly moved her hand in her back to tell Khadgar to watch around, to make sure they weren’t falling into any kind of traps. It wasn’t because of demons were calling themselves harmless that it was the truth.

“I’m Dalliah and I’m a second-generation. If I went here, it’s because the city I was living in got infested by more ferocious demons who are attacking anyone that doesn’t accept to join them, and I ran away.”

Maiev crossed her arms in front of her bust, listening to the demon. But she wasn’t liking the situation at all, reminding her of another that was happening almost like this one. Two hunters, one younger than the others, meeting a seemingly friendly demon, only for someone to die that night. More shivers rolled down her spine, but without any proof that Dalliah was a danger, Maiev couldn’t do anything.

“Well, do you have any identification object on you? Like an ID card or something, so we can do a little background check? We got a lot of new demons coming here and unfortunately, most of them weren’t really friendly.”

“I have, but do you?” The woman asked with a warm smile.

Maiev almost smiled back and took her Hunter ID card from her jacket. It was a simple plastic card with her nickname, a picture of her with her combat gear, the information that she was working for the Prophet, and the seal of approval from the mayor.

“Oh, so you’re the Warden, right?” Dalliah asked as she took off her own ID card.

“Heard of me?” Maiev asked, almost surprised.

“Oh no,” quickly corrected Dalliah. “I just think it’s a neat nickname.”

But Maiev saw her eyes shining and she didn’t like it in the slightest. But she shrugged it off on the moment and checked the card, seeing that Dalliah even had the authorization to travel to the city from both her old city mayor and their own mayor. She had made everything like a simple demon only wanted to have a hidden life, away from the fights.

“Well, everything is good,” said Maiev, still on her guards because of the similarities of the situation and those cold shivers. “Just be careful, we have a few dangerous demons that we still haven’t killed, you shouldn’t walk around at night if you don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Actually, I was going back to my place when I met you,” she explained.

“Don’t drag it. Have a nice night,” Maiev said as she made a sign to Khadgar to start following her again.

“Good night to you too,” Dalliah waved. “I hope to you see again; you are nice.”

Maiev faked her smile to her and waited for the demon to start walking away before turning her back. Khadgar was walking right next to her and she used it to talk discreetly to him.

“Don’t let your guard down, she could attack us any seconds now,” she whispered to him.

The young man nodded but kept looking right in front of him, acting as if nothing was bothering him. Meanwhile, Maiev began to count the seconds in her head, along with the steps the demon was making. Then, they heard a loud sound, as if someone had fallen from a roof onto the pavement, followed by a loud but brief scream. Khadgar was the first to turn around, and constated with horror that the woman was now laying on the ground, a shining double blade piercing through her body.

And above her, the Betrayer.

Before he could realize what was happening, he felt a hand over his cloak, grabbing him and, with a strength he hadn’t expected, got thrown behind by a few feet, Maiev jumping into action in front of him.

“Guardian! Run!” She shouted at him but locking her eyes on the Betrayer.

She finally understood why she had that bad feeling all along and she smiled like crazy. Feeling it in her entire body, she just knew that the Betrayer would finally show up and once again tried to kill in front of her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t protect the newcomer, but she wasn’t going to let him kill Khadgar. Never would she let him kill another Hunter.

“Warden,” Illidan growled as he turned around to look at her. “Been a while.”

At those words, she noticed the scars from the last stabbing wounds. He still hadn’t completely healed from it but she had no doubt that he was missing the taste of blood so much that he took that new opportunity without thinking twice. Slowly, he removed his blade, his Warglaive as he called them, from the body, lifting it until it dropped once again on the floor as the blade slid out of it. The blood was shining on the metal.

“What a shame, I thought you were dead,” she replied, her eyes locked on the wound, knowing it was going to be his weakest point for the night. “You should have.”

“As if I would be killed that easily,” he laughed. “I have plans on how I will make you suffer once I put my hand on you, so you can be sure I won’t die anytime soon.”

“You think your little threats are scaring me?” she taunted, knives shining in her hands. “Bad news, it’s not the case.”

Then, without waiting for him to reply, she jumped towards him, targeting his guts once again but he stopped her, grabbing her wrists. He twisted them, forcing her to drop the knives with a painful sound coming from her mouth, and immediately, the demon strengthened his hold and threw her against the nearest wall. She let out a small scream that she repressed to not let him enjoy it. Before she could fall back on the ground, the Betrayer was back in front of her and grabbed her by the throat, holding her above the ground. She grabbed his hand, trying to spread the fingers to allow her to breathe, while furiously trying to kick him in the guts. But that night, he was stronger and angrier.

“I won’t kill you right now,” he growled at her face. “First, I will break every bone of your body until you beg for mercy. After that, I will destroy that pretty face of yours, and if you are still alive after that, maybe I will put an end at your suffering but to be honest, I plan of dropping you alive into one of those bins and let you asphyxiate in it.”

Maiev felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen but she knew one thing, she wanted to spat in his face and dare him to put his threat into motion but then, she noticed from the corner of her eyes that Khadgar hadn’t run away at all. He was just looking at the scene, unable to move and his stick, Atiesh, between his hands. The brutality in which the Betrayer had been attacking was paralyzing him.

“Guardian!” she tried to scream despite the lack of air. “Run!”

As if hearing her voice was shocking him, Khadgar finally looked at her in the eyes, but she quickly saw that he wasn’t going to listen.

“Don’t be dumb! He’ll kill you too!” she shouted.

“No! I can’t let you die!” replied Khadgar, already running towards the two fighters.

“He chose his fate,” told Illidan to Maiev as he dropped her to face the young Hunter. “I will take care of you later.”

But Khadgar stopped a few feet away from them and held Atiesh in front of him, holding it with only one hand as he pointed it towards the Betrayer. He was heavily breathing, not being sure about what to do now, but it wasn’t going to stop him. No one could die as long as he was there.

“Magic will be ineffective against me,” warned Illidan. “I was already roaming that planet when we transformed it into a weapon!”

And now, Khadgar knew what to do. Even if the fireballs wouldn’t do anything, as the Betrayer pretended, he knew another kind of magic that would save Maiev from a gruesome death. Quickly, he began to draw a rune into the air, using Atiesh as a pen. And as soon as he got close to finish it, he shouted.

“Warden! Close your eyes!”

Maiev reacted just in time and as soon as she did, Khadgar finished the drawing of the rune and a big flash of light illuminated the place. She knew that despite having closed her eyes, she would be blind for a while and she cursed that she couldn’t keep fighting her arch-nemesis. Arch-nemesis who loudly groaned and also cursed out loud as he had clearly been blinded by the spell. Suddenly, Maiev felt arms around her, dragging her away from the wall.

“Hold on, I’m getting us out of here!” Khadgar told her.

She heard him spreading his wings and she felt her body leaving the ground. She couldn’t see yet but she trusted Khadgar to bring them back to Velen’s place in safety, the Betrayer clearly unable to track them. Thinking about everything that had happened in a few minutes, Maiev realized that if she was still alive, it was because Khadgar had intervened and helped.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

Khadgar stayed silent for a moment.

“Thank you to have come with me, I wouldn’t have survived the night if it wasn’t for you.”

Maiev chuckled at that sentence. He was the one who saved her, and yet, he was believing that it was the other way around. She would have to knock some common sense in him sooner or later. But before she could reply, she felt her body slowly saying good night to her, and she knew that she wouldn’t last long, she needed to rest and let her body recover. Thankfully, she felt him landing and knocking on the door with the energy of despair, still holding her.

“Oh my God! Maiev!” she heard Sira screams.

“Help me bring her to a room,” said Khadgar.

“What happened?”

“The Betrayer is real,” Khadgar chuckled, clearly in an attempt to lighten up the mood. “He isn’t a hallucination from her mind.”

“Shut up, I’m blind, not unconscious,” Maiev intervened.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Maiev replied.

She could feel Khadgar making a face saying that it was up to interpretation. But she knew she was becoming too weak but to keep answering and instead, she let them carry her to a bed. Once done, they asked one more time if she was alright and Maiev threw her out of the room verbally. But as soon as the door closed, she fell asleep.

She woke up in pain, all of her body screaming at her that it was a bad idea that she moves. But at the same time, it finally hit her. The Betrayer was alive. She still hadn’t killed him. He was out there and as angry as her. She could still make him pay for everything. Without noticing it, she began to laugh like crazy, all of her pain fading with the euphoria of the discovery. He was alive and killable!

Realizing she had never felt that good for a very long time, she took her phone, still hidden in the jacket she fell asleep in. She needed to use that joy and she knew what she wanted. Quickly, she sent a text to Illidan.

“Hey, you up for breakfast?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next week for the next chapter of Travel !

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it !
> 
> Unfortunately, english isn't my first language so if someone is interested in becoming my beta-reader for the language, hit me up on my Tumblr!  
> Or if you just want to talk about WoW, my fics, someone else fics or anything, you can still hit me up there!
> 
> https://thewritingof-therose.tumblr.com/
> 
> or on Discord
> 
> The_Rose#2429 (My personal one)  
> https://discord.gg/nvKggwc (An Illidan/Maiev Discord)
> 
> Later!
> 
> (Comments are welcomed and appreciated :D)


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